Sometimes it take a neutral, third party to offer perspective, a party that has no stake in what others might consider manipulation.

So amid heightened concern that Ohio State forward Jared Sullinger is free-falling from what most previously viewed as a lottery fate due to concerns about a bad back, now not even invited to Thursday’s green room, Chet Kammerer, the Heat’s vice president of player personnel, was asked Wednesday about pre-draft red flags and the degree they are heeded.

Unlike others who have opined, including many who would benefit by a potential Sullinger freefall, the Heat draft at No. 27, and Sullinger is not falling that far.

While not asked directly about Sullinger, Kammerer was asked about how those red flags factor into the process.

A lot, apparently.

“We take that pretty seriously,” Kammerer said of such medical red flags. “We’re still in the kind of in the review stages, to really get the latest information on two or three players.

“But I think it’s real. I think there are two or three guys probably, that will probably slip in the draft because of the medical issues that they have.”

What Kammerer said it mostly does is change career expectation.

“It’s proven, like Brandon Roy for example, just to use an example,” he said. “He was one of those guys that was really a high risk. I mean, he ended up having some really, really good years.”

Essentially, it comes down to how long a view a team is taking, especially with draft rules now allowing teams to escape relatively early into a first-round pick’s contract.

“Most of the time those players are still able to play,” Kammerer said, “but the length of their careers are definitely altered because of things that are a part of their history.”

The NBA is a land of magically-gifted athletes…and if you don’t fall into that category you better have a pretty jumper or some other type of undeniably-effective skillset. I wasn’t high on Sully even BEFORE the back problems came into the picture, and now I wouldn’t touch this guy with a 10-foot pole.